Cole was standing somewhere. He was outside, he could see hills off in the distance, trees closer by. He was on an elevated platform, and more worryingly, he was frozen in place. He couldn't move his arms, he couldn't move his legs, he couldn't even turn his head. His mind couldn't decide if he wanted to panic, or bask in the serenity. There was something familiar about this place, there was a red bridge in front of him. One he had seen before. Just like the one at… Yang's temple. If he couldn't see the temple, then it must be behind him, which meant he was standing right where the statue was… or rather he was the statue? Panic, yes panic was the correct course of action.
A black clad figure was making their way towards the temple, running in a feat of athleticism. Yes, please! Help me! How could he show the stranger he was trapped? How could he let them know he was still here? As the person approaches, Cole recognises his own face. Wait… how can that be me?
The other Cole runs right up to the statue, yelling something, he couldn't hear it, but he saw his own mouth moving. He looked worried. Was he saying 'Yang?'
Cole's perspective shifts, moving above the two and he could finally see the statue of Yang, glowing in the possession of a ghost as its head creepily shifts with a crack to look directly at him.
Cole wakes up with a start. Sweat trickles down his forehead. What kind of messed up dream was that?
"Cole, are you awake?"
Cole turns his head to confirm who was talking, and sees a green clad blonde sitting by his bedside. "Yeah." he croaks. He starts lifting his arm to wipe at his face, but then remembers how painful moving is, so gives up halfway, resting it on his chest instead.
"How are you feeling?"
Cole takes a moment to check in with his body. It no longer felt like he was burning at the stake, there was still some pain, but it was closer to 'I have just fought a bear' pain. "Not great, but better than before." It was so weird hearing his normal voice. The lights were still off, and Lloyd was making an effort to speak softly.
Lloyd nods. "Good, well, not good that you're still… um, what I mean is, how's your head feeling?"
Cole frowns, Kai and Jay had said something about his head too. "Why is everyone so worried about my head?" He meets Lloyd's concerned looking eyes which flicker up to a spot just above his gaze. "Lloyd? Bring me a mirror."
"Um, I dunno Cole, we can always do that later."
Shit. If Lloyd didn't want him to see whatever was going on with his head, then it must be pretty bad. "So help me Lloyd, if you don't bring me a mirror right now, I will get up off this bed and go get one myself!" Cole starts pushing himself up into a seated position, much at the dismay of his body.
Lloyd panics, seeing him struggle to move. "Fine, fine! Just don't get up yet, you're not ready." Lloyd pulls out his phone and puts it in selfie mode before passing it to Cole.
Cole takes it and examines his face, there is a big jagged scar on his forehead near his left eye. And was it glowing?
"What the hell is that?" asks Cole.
Lloyd shrugs. "We're not exactly sure."
Cole eventually lowers the phone, arms not enjoying being held up for so long. "The other students… how are they?"
"They're fine, well, they're having similar side effects as you, but not quite as severe, and, um, no glowing scars." Cole sighs, leaning back against the wall. "We dropped them off at the hospital. A doctor came on board to check you over and left you these." He waves a box of painkillers.
"And they won't knock me out like that tea?"
"Nope, but they can help if you're still in pain?"
Cole gives a small nod, and Lloyd hands him the meds and a glass of water.
Cole takes the box, but hesitates before accepting the glass. He stares at the harmless liquid, noticing a tense feeling that grips his chest. He could dry swallow the pills if he needed to, but, it was just water, and he couldn't avoid it forever. May as well get it over with. He takes a small sip, testing, and is relieved when it does no harm. Still, once the pills are down he can't convince himself to finish the glass, and sets it down on the bench, far enough away that it was unlikely to spill on him.
Lloyd observes his actions with a slight frown, but makes no comment on the still mostly full glass. "I've also been instructed to make you eat something when you woke up. So, um, wait here."
Lloyd gets up and leaves the med bay. Cole's stomach growls at the thought of food. Real food that I can actually taste! He had long thought about the first thing he would eat after getting his body back. It had to be cake, no question about it, but Lloyd had already left and would probably bring him something more sensible. So, he needs to go to the kitchen and convince Lloyd to let him have cake.
Cole swings his legs off the bed, trying to ignore how much effort that small action had taken, and the dull pain that came with trying to use his limbs. Then as carefully and slowly as he could, he shifts his weight off the bed and onto his legs. For a moment, it feels like he has it, but then the ground is rushing up to meet him, and the world explodes into pain as something bumps his forehead.
He lets out a muffled cry, then lies there face down on the floor, trying to catch his breath as the sharp stabbing pain in his head slowly lowers to an angry throb, beating in time with his pulse.
"Cole, I brought you something to… Cole!"
Lloyd is back, and in his surprise had forgotten to keep his volume low. The sound piercing Cole's skull in a new wave of pain.
"Ow…" grumbles Cole, still face down on the ground.
"What are you doing out of bed! I said you weren't ready…" Lloyd starts grabbing at him, helping him up, and while it doesn't burn like it had before, it was still very unpleasant.
"Loud…" groans Cole, doing his best to force his body to assist Lloyd in getting him back into the bed. Stifling sounds of pain, not wanting Lloyd to realise he was hurting him.
"Sorry." whispers Lloyd more quietly.
Once back in the bed Lloyd is staring at him with a mix of concern and frustration. "Are you ok?"
"Yeah, my legs decided they weren't ready to stand, so I fell and bumped my head? I don't think the glowy scar liked that very much." It was still throbbing something fierce, but fading, either from time, or the drugs starting to take effect.
"Yeah, it doesn't much like to be touched." states Lloyd, making Cole frown. How had they figured that out? "So why were you trying to get up?"
Cole sighs. It was silly. "You didn't ask what I wanted to eat."
Lloyd rolls his eyes. "I know what you want to eat, you want cake."
Cole's heart jumps a little, "You brought me cake?" he asks eagerly.
Lloyd turns to grab a dish from the counter. "I brought you porridge."
Cole's heart plummets. "But you just said…"
"You're not ready for cake just yet. You're overstimulated to the moon and back. Trust me, this is better for now. There will be plenty of cake later, Zane has been practicing."
Before Cole knows it there is a bowl of porridge in his lap and a spoon in his hand. He sighs, getting his body back was turning out to be nothing like he had imagined. He wanted to hug everyone, but touch right now was repulsive. He wanted to run and feel the breath in his lungs and the wind in his hair, but he couldn't even stand up. He wanted to sleep, but even that felt wrong. He wanted to eat cake, but apparently he wasn't ready for that either.
Lloyd sees him having a silent argument with the meal. "Hey, it's going to be ok? You just have to wait a little bit longer."
Cole nods meekly before taking a bite of the porridge. His eyes light up at the taste. This is what real food tastes like? First master he had missed this! There is the unmistakable sweetness of honey. "It's so sweet…" mumbles Cole with a full mouth, savouring the taste before swallowing it. Lloyd normally teases him for adding so much sugar to his porridge, so he was surprised he had made it this sweet.
Lloyd chuckles. "Yup, this is why you can't have cake." Cole frowns at Lloyd while eagerly taking another mouthful. "There's less than half a teaspoon of honey in that."
Cole pauses mid chew, that can't be right… anything less than 2 teaspoons tastes like bland mush. "Na-uh."
Lloyd just stares at him with a smug smile.
Well whatever the reason, he was going to enjoy it. The rest of the unusually sweet meal disappears quickly. The exertion from all the arm movement it required leaves Cole fatigued, sleep tugging gently at his consciousness. "I thought you said the drugs were non drowsy?" Complains Cole.
"Yeah, but they aren't stimulants, your body has been through a lot, it needs rest to sort itself out." Lloyd checks the time on his phone. "Honestly, we were expecting you to sleep longer, the tea only knocked you out for 5 hours."
Lloyd removes the empty bowl from Cole's lap, and encourages him to lie down once more. Cole feels his heavy eyelids drooping, but jerks them open fiercely, and clings at the sheet. This happens a couple more times before Lloyd says something.
"What's wrong? It almost looks like you're scared to fall asleep?"
He says it gently, placing a hand next to Cole's on the bed. Cole sighs before moving his hand to overlap Lloyd's, weaving their fingers together. This was almost like a hug. Almost.
"I really missed sleeping, you know? Maybe I'm just out of practice…" He focuses on Lloyd's hand. The warmth. His fingers ache, but the warmth was nice. He missed that. "I- right now it's just hard to let go. It feels like I'm falling, feels like I'm fading… I was fighting it for so long, it just feels like if I fall asleep I might disappear, die for real."
Lloyd's grip on his fingers increases briefly. "You're not going anywhere, Ok? Your vitals are strong, the pain is improving, we're going to figure out this glowing scar situation, and fyi it glows less when you're asleep. I'll be right here keeping an eye on you, or someone else will be, so it's ok, you can sleep."
Cole nods and lets out a sigh. He knows his fear is irrational, but it is hard to hold onto rationality when your consciousness is fading. After a couple more startling jerks Lloyd asks, "hey, do you want to do a meditation with me?"
"Sure, why not."
Lloyd releases his hand and gets Cole to lie on his back. He stays sitting in the chair, but leans back, and closes his eyes. Lloyd talks through the guided meditation, it was one where you focus your attention on each part of your body in turn, feeling what it's feeling, acknowledging any pain, then moving onto the next part. It was strangely calming, and Cole hadn't really taken the time to fully check in with his body since he got it back. By the end of the meditation the tension and fear from before had mostly vanished, and without even realising it, he faded into a peaceful slumber.